Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-11-13

next move was to form
a regular company. This was COM
pleted on last Tuesday by incorporat
ing 10 the name Of the Gypsy Mill and
Mining Company, with fifty thousand
shares at the par value of 500
share, and capital stock of S.
O0O, 900, all subscribed. The fol-
lowing officers we're elected !:
M. T. Brewer. President; w. w.
Bliss, President; j. B. Freeman,
Superintendent; f. A. Bliss, Assist
ant Superintendent; Roht. Farrell,
Treasurer, and Paul Harrington Sec,
rotary. All these gentlemen are well
and favorably known in this city and
throughout Southern California. Some
of them came to California in 1S49
and all are old-timers with families
living here.
Los Angeles county has the proud
distinction OF having been the nrst
county on the coast where gold was
taken out, by man by the name OF
Stearns. This was taken out
in the neighborhood OF New
hall, and then shipped 10
New York in the year 1850;
The wear following gold was discovered
in the northern part Of the State, but
the Placer mines in this county were
worked in 1854 on what was at that
time called the Santa Anita gold dig
ings. when there was a large town
laid out at the foot of the hills 1t was
inhabited by about three thousand
miners, and preparations we're made
for mining on big scale as soon as the
winter rains should provide the
necessary water, but it will be re-
membered by all old residents OF this
State that the winter was very dry
one, and but little was done, there
being no water for working the
mines. All, or nearly all,
were compelled to hunt other fiel Ills
Thus in u short time there were but
few left in this camp, so that NOTHING.
of note was done until the winter OF
1856. when Mr.. VIM. G. Martin, father
of Supervisor Martin, OF Pomona;
came this way with his family and
camped on this land. One day he
wanted some small poles and hitched
up his team, drove over to small
gnlch, and while cutting the poles his
attention was attracted to some Pc
culiar colored gravel. After gett ng
his supply of poles he gathered lot
of dirt in his handkerchief. Taking it
to camp he PANIED it out, and in the
bottom of the pan he found large
number of fine particles which on
being tested turned out to be
gold. This pleasing find led to fur
ther prospecting, and the result
was that he found gold in good paying
quantities. In short time MIR. Mar
tin had conveyed water, distance OF
about mile and half. This ditch
supplied water enough to run what is
called a "Long Tom," and as he could
not convey the water very far up the
gulch he was forced to cart
his gravel from the gulch to
the "Long Tom" From this
process Mr.. Martin made about 81
a day. He worked this claim for
year, using such portions of the gravel
as he could get. The distance being
too great to cart the dirt he abandoned
this method at that time. Our present
Supervisor from Pomona was about IL
years old, but even at this age he was
ambitious, and every time the Long
Tom" was moved he, with his mother
would clean up where it had been and
pan out from $25 to $35. This was
pretty good for bow who started in
as miner at so early an age. A little
later party went, in 1856, out from
Los Angeles headed by Ex-
Mayor Marchessault, of this city,
now deceased, Mr.. c. Ducom-
man and Mr.. Victor Beaudry.
These gentlemen Represented COM
pany OF moneyed men, and their first
move was the running OF ditch sew
eral miles long, commencing at what
was then called Saw Pitt Cafion, and
costing about $4,000. This
carried the water nearly to
the top of the small hills, enabling
them to work well up in the gulch~s
They took out great many thous md
dol ars, it is said over $4,000. The
opinion of all the miners at that time
was that all the gold washed down
into these gulches came from
river that at some time had
its bed on top of the Santa
Anita mountains, as part of the old
bed is still visible, and gol is traced to
this old bed, but on account oft"e lack
of water the ground upto this point has
never been worked There has never
been any work done in the fiat
at the mouth Of the various eau
ons. In 1856 while Mr.. Martin
lived in this camp he saw three differ
ent shafts sunk on the flat below the
mouth OF the cations and none OF
them ever reached bed rock or water.
The first one was only thirty feet deep
and the deepest one of three was
some eighty feet. In the thirty foot
shaft Mr.. Martin took out nuggets
worth twenty-five cents, and
in panning he got az
many as one hundred and fifty colors
Of gold, but on account of the shaft
being 80 deep it had to be abandoned.
Thus the several gentlemen from Los
Angeles had to quit on account of
there being no water. That discour
aged all the miners SO they, too, had
to seek new fields.
But the present locators have
something that will put them beyond
the need of water for means of sep
arating the gold from the dirt, and
this company has determined to start
large gang of men to work at once, and
instead OF running one separator or
dry-washer, they have purchased four
of them, and will run them by steam.
This being near the rainy season, they
will perhaps not be able to run more
than six weeks, but in this time they
will run the washers to their full
capacity, and the amount of
gold already taken out is the best pos
sible evidence that they have got a
mine similar in appearance to the
noted Tim Buck mine in Yuba county,
which has proved one of the
richest placer mines in the
world. The only difference is
that the Gypsy mine, without
any development shows more gold.
= Al + Al II